Of Horoscopes and Diaries Held Captive
by yourstrulydani
Summary: Sirius might just find love with a horoscope as Marlene loses something dear.


**[A/N] The horoscope is from a site online and the poem below is from Lang Leav's Love and Misadventures, entitled 'When Ignorance Is Bliss' and it's honestly my favourite poem by her!**

**Challenges:**

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Divination Assignment #1 / Prompt : A character's reaction to their horoscope.**

**The Marauder's Era Competition / Prompt : (Marlene McKinnon) loses something of value to them. [Prompts used: jutting, fast, entity, illness, close]**

**100 Drabbles Challenge / Prompt : #21 Midnight**

**Greek Mythology Mega Challenge / Prompt : #21 Thea - Write about someone noticing someone else's beauty.**

**Pick A Card, Any Card Challenge / Prompt : Nine of Hearts - Write about your OTP.**

**Fanfiction Perfumers Challenge / Prompt : Base Note - Sirius Black (musk)**

**Harry Potter Chapter Competition / Prompt : #17 Cat, Rat and Dog - Write about an Animagus**

**A Variety of Prompt Challenge / Prompt : Location - #15 Great Hall**

_I should probably stop combining these many challenges. ;_;_

* * *

"Horscopope.." Sirius squinted his eyes, "What is this, an illness?"

Remus sighed frustratingly, rolling his eyes. "It's a _Horoscope,_ Sirius. It's kind of Divination for the Muggles. You determine your animal, whether you were born in the year of the dog, rabbit, sheep, horse or whatever then you look for your column. In your column, it's stated there of what possibly might happen to you, which objects or numbers would make you a lucky bloke. Your strengths, weaknesses, fortune foretelling and some other things like that."

"Well, that's.." Sirius fumbled for words, ending up with "..boring."

"You're rubbish." retorted Remus, "Let's get yours, maybe you'll find luck with a certain McKinnon." he winked, "Since you're born in 1959, your animal is a pig." Remus sniggered.

"Oi! I'm far more _fit and handsome_ than a pig!" Sirius scoffed, crossing his arms like a small child.

"Shush, you. I'm not finished." said Remus, " _The pig is not thought to be smart as the dog-"_ Remus guffawed, throwing his head back. "Oh, the irony of this!"

"I told you it's rubbish." Sirius mumbled under his breath.

"As I was saying.." he continued after a fit of laughter, " _The pig likes sleeping and eating, resulting of added weight. Thus, it usually features laziness and clumsiness_." Sirius groaned at this. "You're just making that up, arse-face."

"No, no! It's really here." Remus chuckled, tossing him the Muggle newspaper.

"I'll just read it myself.." he muttered, munching on a piece of slightly-burnt toast.

" _People born in the year of the pig have a calm appearance and a strong heart._" Sirius found himself strongly agreeing to it. "_They are quick tempered, but hate arguments and quarrelling. They are kind to their loved ones. This year might also be their luckiest of all." _Marlene McKinnon should be the one reading this, he thought. " _Lucky colours are brown_ (like Marlene's beautiful locks of hair), _green_ (just the same as Marlene's emerald eyes), _red and gold_ (Gryffindor!)." Maybe this wasn't rubbish at all, he supposed..

" _Lucky flowers are hydrangeas and daisies."_ he chuckled, thinking that he really should consider this Horoscope's advice when nicking flowers from the Herbology Greenhouses for Marlene next time. Sirius skipped the wealth and career station, finding what he had been waiting for.

" _Relationships: Singles will meet their true love this year."_ Remus cheered beside him as he read aloud. "_It is suggested that they pay attention to the people around them, for one of them might be the right person."_ Sirius internally grinned. Marlene was born on the same year that he was! He just realized himself, too, that Marlene had always been there.

* * *

"Marly, stop staring! He's bound to notice soon if you keep on doing that!" Lily scolded in a whisper, bringing Marlene out of her reverie. Marlene quickly averted her eyes from Black, who was grinning at something on the newspaper. She looked down on her sketch of him; she always did sketch him, and for some reason she was always unaware while doing so.

"Sorry.." Marlene looked down, cheeks flushed pink, closing her diary-slash-sketchpad.

"This has become a lot worse, dear." Lily patted her hand. Marlene just frowned, tossing her diary carelessly to her book bag.

"I know, and I don't stand a chance with him. I've heard that enough already, alright?" she answered blandly, hiking her bag up her shoulders and walking out of the Great Hall.

_Little did Marlene know her diary-slash-sketchpad was left on the floor, by the Gryffindor table._

* * *

Sirius had the idea of trying out the predictions from the horoscope. He was jutting with confidence as he walked towards where Marlene usually sat. His eyes scanned the seats before him, but she was nowhere in sight. He frowned, "Where's M-" he almost asked Lily, but caught himself in time to not spill the beans on her. He just walked further the aisle when he almost stepped on a moleskin notebook. He gingerly picked it up, dusting its cover. He flipped to the front page, a slanted, curly handwriting signed near the bottom.

**Property of Marlene McKinnon **

_Just his luck._

* * *

Marlene had emptied the contents of her book bag but her diary was nowhere to be found. The panic bubbled in her chest, her hands trembling as she fumbled with the zippers of her bag. She might look like a nutter to a passerby. She might have left or dropped it somewhere..

But that couldn't happen. No way. Nobody should ever have a peek on her sketches and entries. Most of all, Sirius Black should not be the one to pick it up.

_Just her luck._

* * *

Sirius sat himself on the couch by the fireplace, flipping over to a random page on Marlene McKinnon's diary. The edges of the page were doodled with paw prints and leaves.

_Date: September 23, 1966_

_I sometimes wonder how the sun looks absolutely stunning when it's setting. I suppose the autumn colours of the Hogwarts grounds and the bright orange of the pumpkins Hagrid grew added effect to the spectacular view. As I sit down here with Lily, talking nonsense under the old Oak tree, I watch as the Marauders (as they referred to themselves) sit nearby. Remus, always the quiet one, soaks his feet on the Lake with a book on his hands. Peter boredly flicks his wand to the still water, making miniature waves. James is throwing Lily suggestive winks and cheeky grins, to which Lily only rolled her eyes. Then, there's Sirius. Sirius had always been the loud one. But today, he's quite different. He's currently picking up flattened stones to skim on the Lake. I had observed before that it was his way to jut off steam. _

_He chooses an alright-looking stone._

_He feels the stone on his fingertips._

_He looked back on the Lake to address the target point._

_He breathes in, and out._

_He closes one eye to achieve better results._

_He skims the stone across the Lake._

_He smiles a smile, a smile so rare._

_I often find myself marvelling at his little actions and mannerisms. I feel so content on just watching him, because I know that he'll never like me. I've quite gotten used to the fact, you see. And I'm alright with it._

Enclosed was a rough but detailed sketch of Sirius by the Lake, only his back featured. He had one hand extended as if he had just thrown a stone. There also were tiny ripples on the Lake, and a flat rock on a far distance.

* * *

"Lily! I can't find it anywhere!" Marlene hopelessly muttered, trying hard not to cry at her situation. She had already searched the whole Great Hall. She even traced back her steps, but it was still nowhere to be found.

"We just.. need.. to keep trying harder-!" Lily attempted to move a heavy chair, in case her diary was somehow wedges under it. She fell on her bottoms on the process.

"I'll be skewered to death if anyone reads it." she cried out, pulling on her hair.

* * *

_Date: March 12, 1967_

_I deplore_

_being ignored  
for-_

_I am not a bore!_

_But it's perplexingly sweet  
and quite sexy too,  
to be ignored  
ignored by you._

Marlene had drawn a portrait of him. It was him, but at the same time it was not. Marlene McKinnon had seen Sirius Black in a new light.

Sirius transfigured a quill and tore off a piece of parchment from the nearby desk. He called to one of the Gryffindor 4th years, saying "Give this to the pretty McKinnon lady, will you? Oh, and don't tell it's from me. Thanks!" The little boy hadn't even had time to object as Sirius made his way out of the Common Room, a big grin settled on his lips. He transfigured into his Animagus form to go undetected. His horoscope did really make sense after all.

* * *

_"Midnight, on the bridge. Come alone." _ Marlene's eyes widened as she read the words, _"I have your diary on captive."_

That was all it took for Marlene to sprint towards the North Bridge on the other side of Hogwarts fast.

* * *

A big, black dog arrived at the bridge, clamping daisies and hydrangeas with his teeth. He transformed back to his human form, dusting off stray grass that somehow had clung to his robes. He needed to clean and arrange the flowers properly, since they were his lucky flowers and all. He leaned towards the walls on the bridge, waiting for a certain brunette to make her grand appearance.

" _Oh, shit_." said a voice behind him.

* * *

Oh, shit indeed. It was bad that somebody held her diary as captive, but did Merlin have no mercy in her and destined Sirius to be the one to find it?

Marlene looked at him, biting her bottom lip. She wasn't really sure what to say, and just settled for "I'm sure you would have known by now."

"Yes." he answered, hiding a small smile.

"It's rather rude to read someone else's diary, you know?" she stepped closer to him cautiously.

"I'm aware."

Marlene was very close now, looking up at Sirius' towering height. Her hair was frizzy from all the cold air around them, her eyes ablaze as she gazed deeply into his own, her plump lips pink and slightly curled up. Sirius mentally swore himself on how could he have wasted his time on simple girls. How could he had overlooked Marlene long before? Her entire entity was beautiful. Her eyes captivated him just like her words and sketches did.

"D'you know that our horoscopes said that we'll be finding love this year?" Sirius said in a light voice, a soft smile settling on his lips.

"I'm quite aware, now."

"D'you also know that I've been trying to catch your eye for the past months?"

"Try it for a couple of years."

"Would you allow me to make it up to you?'

"Perhaps.."

"Would you mind if I kiss you right now?"

"Certainly...not."

And with that, Sirius pressed his lips onto her soft ones. Thank Merlin for the horoscope Remus had lent him.

_The hydrangeas and daises were left unnoticed on the ground._


End file.
